Nordic Walking during Lockdown; how to train by yourself

Dear Nordic Walkers – here are a few tips how you can make the best of your private walks during lockdown. It is important not to lose your good technique during this time when you won't get any feedback; you will have to self-observe and self-correct a bit more.

The core goal of your walking should be to enjoy your walk and make time to look at nature and be nurtured by it. Do not push yourself too hard in these difficult times. Nordic Walking is as much for your mental wellbeing as your physical fitness. Find at least one amazing thing in nature that cheers you up on every walk.
At the same time: On each walk take a bit of time (e.g. twice ten minutes on each walk) to work on your technique. Pick one thing of the following list and pay full attention whether you are doing it. If not, self-correct

• Correct arm-swing (driven by your shoulders, not your elbow). Your arms should be almost straight. Do not bring up your knuckles when you swing the poles forward (remember the metaphor of the “Gorilla”; if your arms were longer, you would drag your knuckles along the floor…). If you struggle, stop, and swing your arms from the shoulder. Tell your body that this is the right way to do it. Or do the exercise where you just walk/drag your poles, then give a slight push into the gloves, then only lift the poles, and start Nordic Walking again.
• Pole position: Place/push the poles so that you can propel yourself forward (poles need to be almost 45degrees down, the tip of the back pole should be placed near your back foot before you push off). The more advanced you get, the more you can push the pole behind your back (do not stop when your hand is at the side of your body, push a bit further back).
• Hand position: Do not grab the poles too hard. When you push back, you should feel the push in your glove, not in your hand around the pole. After the push, your hand should actively relax (for more experienced walkers, it will even open). Caution: Do not turn your wrist down when you push back, your fingers should not point down.
• Good posture: Do not crunch your shoulders and look about 3 meters or more ahead of you. This still allows you to see any hindrances on the path and gives you an upright position. Actively open your chest, breathe! If you are more advanced: Lean forward a bit.
• Foot work: Engage your feet in a rolling motion (more than in regular walking): Bring the foot down on the heel and then roll it forward and push off the ball of your foot. Remember, we used the metaphor of us “squeezing a lemon” with our foot. Make sure you push yourself forward, not up.
• If one of your arms is doing a better job than the other, put your poles under your shoulders for a few minutes and only work with the “weaker” arm. Focus on how you sing, place, and push with that arm.

And here are a few more tips about walking with other people (You may walk with one other person during lockdown).

• Make sure that you do not loose your good technique while chatting. The greatest ‘risk’ of chatting while Nordic walking is using the poles more in a trekking way (using them in front of the body with bent elbows, instead of using them to propel yourself forward). Check your pole position occasionally: are you swinging your arms? If you walk too much in the wrong position, your body will think “this is O.K.” and you create a bad habit.
• If you walk with a slower walker without poles, you still can create an upper-body workout for yourself: Take shorter steps, but still push yourself forward with the poles.

Enjoy your training: Ten minutes of focused self-observation and self-correction with just ONE topic as mentioned above will do wonders for you.